Mother's terror as bus driver turns her away... and drives off with her five-year-old daughter

A terrified mother watched helplessly from the pavement as a bus driver shut the vehicle's doors in her face and drove off - with her five-year-old daughter on board.

Frantic Claire Raddon, 30, was queueing for a bus with her four children when her daughter Jessica jumped on board ahead of her.

But as Claire went to follow her, the driver abruptly told her the vehicle was full - before shutting the doors and driving off.

Hysterical: Claire Raddon's daughter Jessica was left stranded on a bus for ten stops before they were reunited

She shouted for him to stop but the Stagecoach service disappeared into the distance in Exeter, Devon – carrying her daughter a further ten stops.

The distraught pair were not reunited until 15 minutes later.

Claire said: 'Everyone piled onto the bus and the driver shut the doors in my face and drove off, even though I was shouting at him that he had my five-year-old daughter on board and she was on her own.

'It was terrifying. I was hysterical. So many things were going through my head and I was thinking about how I would be able to get her back.

'I was going to get on the next bus and get them to contact the driver.'

The incident happened at 4pm last Wednesday after Claire picked up her children from Kenton Primary School in Exeter, Devon.

When the bus stopped Jessica jumped on first as Claire was busy gathering up her other three children.

Fortunately a neighbour was also on the bus and looked after Jessica after realising what had happened.

'It was chucking with rain and I was left standing there'

Claire said: ‘It’s a mum’s worst nightmare to not know where your child is. My neighbour told me she was screaming all the way and all the people on the bus were trying to make the driver stop but he wouldn’t.

‘It was just awful, it was chucking it down with rain and I was just left standing there, panicking and trying to get on the next bus so they could radio the other bus.

‘But just as the next bus came along, my neighbour managed to contact me to tell me she had Jessica with her.

‘I managed to get on the next bus which actually got me home quicker than Jessica so we were all standing at the bus stop waiting for her when she got home.